With BOSM barely a few days away, the boys’ basketball team captain, Pranav Singh Rathore, can be seen on the court everyday pushing his team during training. No time is left to waste, with practices every morning from six to eight and in the evening from five. They leave only when they have to.

With five players on each side, the primary objective of Basketball is to shoot the ball through the defenders’ hoop. Two points are awarded for every basket, unless it is scored from behind the semicircular three point line, which gets the scoring team three points. Four quarters of ten to twelve minutes each are played, with breaks between them. Fouls can range from unnecessary physical contact, for which a free throw is awarded, to code violations such as carrying the ball, travelling, or a double-dribble. Such violations result in the possession of the ball being given to the other team.

The team has a wide spread of members, with three first years being the new recruits. The captain mentions that quite a few of their players are state and national level players, and have the required skill to do well in the competition. When asked who he thinks will stand out, he laughs and mentions that Vishal “baby doll” Verma, a team legend, will be the star player.

Although the team hasn’t had the best run in BOSM before, the captain is optimistic about their chances. He mentions that the semi-finals will be a considerable challenge, as most likely, they will be played against teams of the Delhi University. ‘Being a technical institute, we can’t devote as much time as they can to the sport.’, he adds. The team has reached the semi- finals in the last three editions of BOSM.

The captain himself, a third year general studies student, comes from a family of basketball players. His mother was a national level basketball player, with his uncle having captained the Indian team in the Olympics. He is quite comfortable with the captaincy, saying the only added responsibility is that of making sure the team remains cohesive and coordinated while on the court.

When asked for his final words to the students of BITS, he requested people to give them as much support as they can. ‘We work so hard to do well in the competition for the people here, and their support can go a long way towards pumping the team up to do even better.’